Saturday, September 24, 2011

I have been back in Turlock for about a month now and I am finally getting into a somewhat regular routine. I'm taking 12 units this semester which I thought would be a breeze compared to my previous 19 or 20 unit semesters... but I'm discovering that I'm not the same student I used to be. I used to pride myself on being a good student who didn't have to study for hours to get a good grade. I could wait until the last dying moment to complete an assignment and still receive an A. I received a large, but not overly complex, assignment at the beginning of the semester in one of my classes and put it on the back burner, thinking that I could "do it later." When later finally came, I sat overwhelmed and in tears in front of my computer. I had no idea where to begin...I was so afraid to make a mistake that I literally couldn't start.What used to take me an hour now seems to take an eternity. It was a very humbling and sad realization to come to. All I could think was, "I can't do it. I honestly can't do it." You would think after having a brain tumor, going through three major surgeries and four rounds of chemo I would have gotten the picture but it was like God was saying "You can't do it on your own, Maggie. Ask for My help." When we are at our weakest, God is at His strongest.

I began my fifth round of chemo on 9/21 and have been feeling slightly nauseous pretty much every day this round. Praise God my side effects are so mild! We meet with the neuro-oncologist again on Tuesday 9/27. I will have an MRI at their facility that morning and we will hopefully see some progress from the chemo. The last time we saw her she added another blood draw to my schedule each month (21st and 28th day of the chemo cycle) and it has also added a considerable amount of stress. My insurance only covers my bloodwork if it is done in Woodland so I have to drive an hour and a half there and back twice a month. The doctor in Woodland who administers my chemo sees no reason for me to have the second blood draw because my white blood cell counts have stayed fairly consistent throughout my treatments so far.

My maid of honor and I went to the hair salon where we will have our hair done for the wedding for a trial run today. She did a great job considering my crazy hair cut! She even said she would give me a discounted rate because I had less hair to work with hahaha. The wedding is in less than two months and I cannot wait for it to get here! Brad and I have so much to celebrate. :)

If you are praying for me (thank you!) and would like some specific things to pray about here are a few requests: